S E C O N D S A M U E L

CHAP. V.

How far Abner's deserting the house of Saul, his
murder, and the murder of Ish-bosheth, might contribute to the
perfecting of the revolution, and the establishing of David as king
over all Israel, does not appear; but, it should seem, that happy
change followed presently thereupon, which in this chapter we have
an account of. Here is, I. David anointed king by all the tribes,
ver. 1-5. II. Making
himself master of the strong-hold of Zion, ver. 6-10. III. Building himself a house
and strengthening himself in his kingdom, ver. 11, 12. IV. His children that were
born after this, ver.
13-16. V. His victories over the Philistines, ver. 17-25.

David King over All Israel. (b. c. 1048.)

1 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David
unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and
thy flesh. 2 Also in time past, when Saul was king over us,
thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the
Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed
my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. 3
So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king
David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned
over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned
thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

Here is, I. The humble address of all the
tribes to David, beseeching him to take upon him the government
(for they were now as sheep having no shepherd), and owning him for
their king. Though David might by no means approve the murder of
Ish-bosheth, yet he might improve the advantages he gained thereby,
and accept the applications made to him thereupon. Judah had
submitted to David as their king above seven years ago, and their
ease and happiness, under his administration, encouraged the rest
of the tribes to make their court to him. What numbers came from
each tribe, with what zeal and sincerity they came, and how they
were entertained for three days at Hebron, when they were all of
one heart to make David king, we have a full account, 1 Chron. xii. 23-40. Here we have
only the heads of their address, containing the grounds they went
upon in making David king. 1. Their relation to him was some
inducement: "We are thy bone and thy flesh (v. 1), not only thou art our
bone and our flesh, not a stranger, unqualified by the law to be
king (Deut. xvii. 15), but
we are thine," that is, "we know that thou considerest us as thy
bone and thy flesh, and hast as tender a concern for us as a man
has for his own body, which Saul and his house had not. We are
thy bone and thy flesh, and therefore thou wilt be as glad as
we shall be to put an end to this long civil war; and thou wilt
take pity on us, protect us, and do thy utmost for our welfare."
Those who take Christ for their king may thus plead with him:
"We are thy bone and thy flesh, thou hast made thyself in
all things like unto thy brethren (Heb. ii. 17); therefore be thou our ruler,
and let this ruin be under thy hand," Isa. iii. 6. 2. His former good services to
the public were a further inducement (v. 2): "When Saul was king he
was but the cypher, thou wast the figure, thou wast he that
leddest out Israel to battle, and broughtest them in in
triumph; and therefore who so fit now to fill the vacant throne?"
He that is faithful in a little deserves to be entrusted with more.
Former good offices done for us should be gratefully remembered by
us when there is occasion. 3. The divine appointment was the
greatest inducement of all: The Lord said, Thou shalt feed my
people Israel, that is, thou shalt rule them; for princes are
to feed their people as shepherds, in every thing consulting the
subjects' benefit, feeding them and not fleecing them. "And thou
shalt be not only a king to govern in peace, but a captain to
preside in war, and be exposed to all the toils and perils of the
camp." Since God has said so, now at length, when need drives them
to it, they are persuaded to say so too.

II. The public and solemn inauguration of
David, v. 3. A
convention of the states was called; all the elders of Israel came
to him; the contract was settled, the pacta
conventa—covenants, sworn to, and subscribed on both sides. He
obliged himself to protect them as their judge in peace and captain
in war; and they obliged themselves to obey him. He made a
league with them to which God was a witness: it was before
the Lord. Hereupon he was, for the third time, anointed king.
His advances were gradual, that his faith might be tried and that
he might gain experience. And thus his kingdom typified that of the
Messiah, which was to come to its height by degrees; for we see
not yet all things put under him (Heb. ii. 8), but we shall see it, 1 Cor. xv. 25.

III. A general account of his reign and
age. He was thirty years old when he began to reign, upon the death
of Saul, v. 4. At
that age the Levites were at first appointed to begin their
administration, Num. iv. 3.
About that age the Son of David entered upon his public ministry,
Luke iii. 23. Then men come
to their full maturity of strength and judgment. He reigned, in
all, forty years and six months, of which seven years and a half in
Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem, v. 5. Hebron had been famous, Josh. xiv. 15. It was a priest's
city. But Jerusalem was to be more so, and to be the holy city.
Great kings affected to raise cities of their own, Gen. x. 11, 36, 32-35.
David did so, and Jerusalem was the city of David. It is a name
famous to the end of the Bible (Rev.
xxi.), where we read of a new Jerusalem.

David Takes Mount Sion. (b. c. 1047.)

6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem
unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto
David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou
shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.
7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same
is the city of David. 8 And David said on that day,
Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and
the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul,
he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The
blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 9 So David
dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built
round about from Millo and inward. 10 And David went on, and
grew great, and the Lord God of
hosts was with him.

If Salem, the place of which Melchizedec
was king, was Jerusalem (as seems probable from Ps. lxxvi. 2), it was famous in Abraham's
time. Joshua, in his time, found it the chief city of the south
part of Canaan, Josh. x.
1-3. It fell to Benjamin's lot (Josh. xviii. 28), but joined close to
Judah's, Josh. xv. 8. The
children of Judah had taken it (Judg.
i. 8), but the children of Benjamin suffered the
Jebusites to dwell among them (Judg.
i. 21), and they grew so upon them that it became a
city of Jebusites, Judg. xix.
11. Now the very first exploit David did, after he was
anointed king over all Israel, was to gain Jerusalem out of the
hand of the Jebusites, which, because it belonged to Benjamin, he
could not well attempt till that tribe, which long adhered to
Saul's house (1 Chron. xii.
29), submitted to him. Here we have,

I. The Jebusites' defiance of David and his
forces. They said, Except thou take away the blind and the lame,
thou shalt not come in hither, v. 6. They sent David this provoking
message, because, as it is said afterwards, on another occasion,
they could not believe that ever an enemy would enter into the
gates of Jerusalem, Lam. iv.
12. They confided either, 1. In the protection of their
gods, which David, in contempt, had called the blind and the
lame, for they have eyes and see not, feet and walk not.
"But," say they, "these are the guardians of our city, and except
thou take these away (which thou canst never do) thou canst not
come in hither." Some think they were constellated images of brass
set up in the recess of the fort, and entrusted with the custody of
the place. They called their idols their Mauzzim, or
strong-holds (Dan. xi.
38) and as such relied on them. The name of the Lord
is our strong tower, and his arm is strong, his eyes are
piercing. Or, 2. In the strength of their fortifications, which
they thought were made so impregnable by nature or art, or both,
that the blind and the lame were sufficient to defend them against
the most powerful assailant. The strong-hold of Zion they
especially depended on, as that which could not be forced. Probably
they set blind and lame people, invalids or maimed soldiers, to
make their appearance upon the walls, in scorn of David and his
men, judging them an equal match for him. Though there remain but
wounded men among them, yet they should serve to beat back the
besiegers. Compare Jer. xxxvii.
10. Note, The enemies of God's people are often very
confident of their own strength and most secure when their day to
fall draws nigh.

II. David's success against the Jebusites.
Their pride and insolence, instead of daunting him, animated him,
and when he made a general assault he gave this order to his men:
"He that smiteth the Jebusites, let him also throw down into the
ditch, or gutter, the lame and the blind, which are set
upon the wall to affront us and our God." It is probable they had
themselves spoken blasphemous things, and were therefore hated of
David's soul. Thus v.
8 may be read; we fetch our reading of it from 1 Chron. xi. 6, which speaks only of
smiting the Jebusites, but nothing of the blind and the lame. The
Jebusites had said that if these images of theirs did not protect
them the blind and the lame should not come into the house,
that is, they would never again trust their palladium (so Mr.
Gregory understands it) nor pay the respect they had paid to their
images; and David, having gained the fort, said so too, that these
images, which could not protect their worshippers, should never
have any place there more.

III. His fixing his royal seat in Sion. He
himself dwelt in the fort (the strength whereof, which had given
him opposition, and was a terror to him, now contributed to his
safety), and he built houses round about for his attendants and
guards (v. 9) from
Millo (the town-hall, or state-house) and inward. He proceeded and
prospered in all he set his hand to, grew great in honour,
strength, and wealth, more and more honourable in the eyes of his
subjects and formidable in the eyes of his enemies; for the Lord
God of hosts was with him. God has all creatures at his
command, makes what use he pleases of them, and serves his own
purposes by them; and he was with him, to direct, preserve, and
prosper him, Those that have the Lord of hosts for them need not
fear what hosts of men or devils can do against them. Those who
grow great must ascribe their advancement to the presence of God
with them, and give him the glory of it. The church is called
Sion, and the city of the living God. The Jebusites,
Christ's enemies, must first be conquered and dispossessed, the
blind and the lame taken away, and then Christ divides the spoil,
sets up his throne there, and makes it his residence by the
Spirit.

David's Children. (b. c. 1046.)

11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to
David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built
David a house. 12 And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and
that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.
13 And David took him more concubines and wives out
of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet
sons and daughters born to David. 14 And these be the
names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and
Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, 15 Ibhar also, and Elishua,
and Nepheg, and Japhia, 16 And Elishama, and Eliada, and
Eliphalet.

Here is, I. David's house built, a royal
palace, fit for the reception of the court he kept and the homage
that was paid to him, v.
11. The Jews were husbandmen and shepherds, and did not
much addict themselves either to merchandise or manufactures; and
therefore Hiram, king of Tyre, a wealthy prince, when he sent to
congratulate David on his accession to the throne, offered him
workmen to build him a house. David thankfully accepted the offer,
and Hiram's workmen built David a house to his mind. Many have
excelled in arts and sciences who were strangers to the covenants
of promise. Yet David's house was never the worse, nor the less fit
to be dedicated to God, for being built by the sons of the
stranger. It is prophesied of the gospel church, The sons of the
strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister
unto thee, Isa. lx.
10.

II. David's government settled and built
up, v. 12. 1. His
kingdom was established, there was nothing to shake it, none to
disturb his possession or question his title. He that made him king
established him, because he was to be a type of Christ, with whom
God's hand should be established, and his covenant stand
fast, Ps. lxxxix.
21-28. Saul was made king, but not established; so Adam
in innocency. David was established king, so is the Son of David,
with all who through him are made to our God kings and
priests. 2. It was exalted in the eyes both of its friends and
enemies. Never had the nation of Israel looked so great or made
such a figure as it began now to do. Thus it is promised of Christ
that he shall be higher than the kings of the earth,Ps. lxxxix. 27. God has
highly exalted him, Phil. ii.
9. 3. David perceived, by the wonderful concurrence of
providences to his establishment and advancement, that God was with
him. By this I know that thou favourest me, Ps. xli. 11. Many have the favour of
God and do not perceive it, and so want the comfort of it: but to
be exalted to that and established in it, and to perceive it, is
happiness enough. 4. He owned that it was for his people Israel's
sake that God had done great things for him, that he might be a
blessing to them and they might be happy under his administration.
God did not make Israel his subjects for his sake, that he might be
great, and rich, and absolute: but he made him their king for their
sake, that he might lead, and guide, and protect them. Kings are
ministers of God to their people for good, Rom. xiii. 4.

III. David's family multiplied and
increased. All the sons that were born to him after he came to
Jerusalem are here mentioned together, eleven in all, besides the
six that were born to him before in Hebron, ch. iii. 2, 5. There the
mothers are mentioned, not here; only, in general, it is
said that he took more concubines and wives, v. 13. Shall we praise him for
this? We praise him not; we justify him not; nor can we scarcely
excuse him. The bad example of the patriarchs might make him think
there was no harm in it, and he might hope it would strengthen his
interest, by multiplying his alliances, and increasing the royal
family. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of these
arrows. But one vine by the side of the house, with the
blessing of God, may send boughs to the sea and branches to the
rivers. Adam, by one wife, peopled the world, and Noah re-peopled
it. David had many wives, and yet that did not keep him from
coveting his neighbour's wife and defiling her; for men that have
once broken the fence will wander endlessly. Of David's concubines,
see 2 Sam. xv. 16; xvi.
22; xix. 5. Of his sons, see 1 Chron. iii. 1-9.

David Defeats the
Philistines. (b. c. 1046.)

17 But when the Philistines heard that they had
anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to
seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the
hold. 18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in
the valley of Rephaim. 19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the
Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will
doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 20 And
David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said,
The Lord hath broken forth upon mine
enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the
name of that place Baal-perazim. 21 And there they left
their images, and David and his men burned them. 22 And the
Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley
of Rephaim. 23 And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but
fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the
mulberry trees. 24 And let it be, when thou hearest the
sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou
shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of
the Philistines. 25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the
Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

The particular service for which David was
raised up was to save Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines, ch. iii.
18. This therefore divine Providence, in the first
place, gives him an opportunity of accomplishing. Two great
victories obtained over the Philistines we have here an account of,
by which David not only balanced the disgrace and retrieved the
loss Israel had sustained in the battle wherein Saul was slain, but
went far towards the total subduing of those vexatious neighbours,
the last remains of the devoted nations.

I. In both these actions the Philistines
were the aggressors, stirred first towards their own destruction,
and pulled it on their own heads. 1. In the former they came up
to seek David (v.
17), because they heard that he was anointed king
over Israel. He that under Saul had slain his ten thousands,
what would he do when he himself came to be king! They therefore
thought it was time to look about them, and try to crush his
government in its infancy, before it was well settled. Their
success against Saul, some years ago, perhaps encouraged them to
make this attack upon David; but they considered not that David had
that presence of God with him which Saul had forfeited and lost.
The kingdom of the Messiah, as soon as ever it was set up in the
world, was thus vigorously attacked by the powers of darkness, who,
with the combined force both of Jews and Gentiles, made head
against it. The heathen raged, and the kings of the earth set
themselves to oppose it; but all in vain, Ps. ii. 1, &c. The destruction will
turn, as this did, upon Satan's own kingdom. They took counsel
together, but were broken in pieces, Isa. viii. 9, 10. 2. In the latter they
came up yet again, hoping to recover what they had lost in
the former engagement, and their hearts being hardened to their
destruction, v. 22.
3. In both they spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim,
which lay very near Jerusalem. That city they hoped to make
themselves masters of before David had completed the fortifications
of it. Jerusalem, from its infancy, has been aimed at, and struck
at, with a particular enmity. Their spreading themselves intimates
that they were very numerous and that they made a very formidable
appearance. We read of the church's enemies going up on the
breadth of the earth (Rev. xx.
9), but the further they spread themselves the fairer
mark they are to God's arrows.

II. In both, David, though forward enough
to go forth against them (for as soon as he heard it he went
down to the hold, to secure some important and advantageous
post, v. 17), yet
entered not upon action till he had enquired of the Lord by
the breast-plate of judgment, v. 19, and again, v. 23. His enquiry was twofold:—1.
Concerning his duty: "Shall I go up? Shall I have a
commission from heaven to engage them?" One would think he needed
not doubt this; what was he made king for, but to fight the battles
of the Lord and Israel? But a good man loves to see God going
before him in every step he takes. "Shall I go up now?" It
is to be done, but is it to be done at this time? In all thy
ways acknowledge him. And besides, though the Philistines were
public enemies, yet some of them had been his particular friends.
Achish had been kind to him in his distress, and had protected him.
"Now," says David, "ought not I, in remembrance of that, rather to
make peace with them than to make war with them?" "No," says God,
"they are Israel's enemies, and are doomed to destruction, and
therefore scruple not, but go up." 2. Concerning his
success. His conscience asked the former question, Shall I go
up? His prudence asked this, Wilt thou deliver them into my
hand? Hereby he owns his dependence on God for victory, that he
could not conquer them unless God delivered them into his hand, and
refers his cause to the good pleasure of God: Wilt thou do
it? Yea, says God, I will doubtless do it. If God send
us, he will bear us out and stand by us. The assurance God has
given us of victory over our spiritual enemies, that he will tread
Satan under our feet shortly, should animate us in our spiritual
conflicts. We do not fight at uncertainty. David had now a great
army at command and in good heart, yet he relied more on God's
promise than his own force.

III. In the former of these engagements
David routed the army of the Philistines by dint of sword
(v. 20): He smote
them; and when he had done, 1. He gave his God the glory; he
said, "The Lord has broken forth upon my enemies before me.
I could not have done it if he had not done it before me; he opened
the breach like the breach of waters in a dam, which when once
opened grows wider and wider." The principal part of the work was
God's doing; nay, he did all; what David did was not worth speaking
of; and therefore, Not unto us, but unto the Lord, give
glory. He hoped likewise that this breach, like that of waters,
was as the opening of the sluice, to let in a final desolation upon
them; and, to perpetuate the remembrance of it, he called the place
Baal-perazim, the master of the breaches, because, God
having broken in upon their forces, he soon had the mastery of
them. Let posterity take notice of it to God's honour. 2. He put
their gods to shame. They brought the images of their gods into the
field as their protectors, in imitation of the Israelites bringing
the ark into their camp; but, being put to flight, they could not
stay to carry off their images, for they were a burden to the
weary beasts (Isa. xlvi.
1), and therefore they left them to fall with the rest
of their baggage into the hands of the conqueror. Their images
failed them, and gave them no assistance, and therefore they left
their images to shift for themselves. God can make men weary of
those things that they have been most fond of, and compel them to
desert what they dote upon, and cast even the idols of silver
and gold to the moles and the bats, Isa. ii. 20, 21. David and his men
converted to their own use the rest of the plunder, but the images
they burnt, as God had appointed (Deut.
vii. 5): "You shall burn their graven images with
fire, in token of your detestation of idolatry, and lest they
should be a snare." Bishop Patrick well observes here that when the
ark fell into the Philistines' hands it consumed them, but, when
these images fell into the hands of Israel, they could not save
themselves from being consumed.

IV. In the latter of these engagements God
gave David some sensible tokens of his presence with him, bade him
not fall upon them directly, as he had done before, but fetch a
compass behind them, v.
23. 1. God appoints him to draw back, as Israel stood
still to see the salvation of the Lord. 2. He promised him to
charge the enemy himself, by an invisible host of angels, v. 24. "Thou shalt hear the
sound of a going, like the march of an army in the air,
upon the tops of the mulberry trees." Angels tread light,
and he that can walk upon the clouds can, when he pleases, walk on
the tops of trees, or (as bishop Patrick understands it) at the
head of the mulberry-trees, that is, of the wood, or hedge-row of
those trees. "And, by that sign, thou shalt know that the Lord
goes out before thee; though thou see him not, yet thou shalt
hear him, and faith shall come and be confirmed by hearing. He goes
forth to smite the host of the Philistines." When David had
himself smitten them (v.
20), he ascribed it to God: The Lord has broken forth
upon my enemies, to reward him for which thankful
acknowledgment the next time God did it himself alone, without
putting him to any toil or peril. Those that own God in what he has
done for them will find him doing more. But observe, Though God
promised to go before him and smite the Philistines, yet
David, when he heard the sound of the going must bestir himself and
be ready to pursue the victory. Note, God's grace must quicken our
endeavours. If God work in us both to will and to do, it does not
follow that we must sit still, as those that have nothing to do,
but we must therefore, work out our own salvation with all
possible care and diligence, Phil.
ii. 12, 13. The sound of the going was, (1.) A signal to
David when to move; it is comfortable going out when God goes
before us. And, (2.) Perhaps it was an alarm to the enemy, and put
them into confusion. Hearing the march of an army against their
front, they retreated with precipitation, and fell into David's
army which lay behind them in their rear. Of those whom God fights
against it is said (Lev. xxvi.
36), The sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them.
(3.) The success of this is briefly set down, v. 25. David observed his orders,
waited till God moved, and stirred them, but not till then. Thus he
was trained up in a dependence on God and his providence. God
performed his promise, went before him, and routed all the enemies'
force, and David failed not to improve his advantages; he smote the
Philistines, even to the borders of their own country. When the
kingdom of the Messiah was to be set up, the apostles that were to
beat down the devil's kingdom must not attempt any thing till they
received the promise of the Spirit, who came with a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind (Acts ii. 2), which was typified by this sound
of the going on the tops of the mulberry trees; and, when they
heard that, they must bestir themselves, and did so; they went
forth conquering and to conquer.